Another Day, Another Case
by ShepherdDog
Summary: A case for Jack Malone and his crew. I am SO new at this, please read and review.


Jack woke up to his blaring alarm clock taunting him from across the room. To the average person, it was playing classic rock from the local radio station, but to Jack, it was saying, "I know you are exhausted, but I don't care!" Jack pulled back the warm covers and shuddered as he realized how cool it was in his bedroom. He put both of his feet on the hardwood floor and winced again as he was shaken even more awake by the freezing temperature of the floor. After a second or two, his feet began to feel normal again and he rubbed his eyes with both palms. He stood up and found a pair of basketball shorts to put on over his boxers. He needed coffee, and he needed to get his girls up and ready for school.

Still a bit drowsy he made his way down the hallway of his New York penthouse condominium. It was still rather new to him since he had only lived there for a few months. The primary reasons for the recent relocation were sleeping in the bedrooms on the opposite end of the condo. As he passed through the kitchen he pressed the 'Brew' button on the coffee maker and immediately it started to operate. He made his way towards Hannah and Kate's bedrooms for the real challenge. Getting the girls to wake up was always a hard thing to do. Neither girl was a morning person. Jack knew how to approach the challenge though.

He first knocked on Hannah's door and it easily swung open. She was in her early teenage years and her room showed it. It was slightly messy with clothes that were flung everywhere. There was a pile of schoolbooks and notebooks on the floor. Jack didn't recall her doing homework the night before, so he hoped she had gotten it done. On the other side of her room, there was a full-length mirror propped up against the wall. On the floor surrounding it was miscellaneous beauty products and hair clips. Jack shook his head in disagreement as he skimmed over the products. His daughter did not need all this stuff to look beautiful. She just was. He lightly stepped over to the bed this oldest daughter was sleeping in. She looked almost angelic, curled up in a semi-fetal position. Jack gently laid his hand on her shoulder.

"Wake up Sweetheart, you have to get ready for school." Jack said quietly. Hannah stirred in her bed. He knew at that point, she would whimper for a few minutes and fall back to sleep. He would let her be until after he went in to Kate's room.

Jack noticeably gave no regard to the door to his other daughter's room. He opened it widely and charged through as though he was on a mission. Kate was his tomboy. She enjoyed playing soccer and basketball and wasn't worried about her appearance nearly as much as her sister. She was also a lot harder to wake than Hannah was.

"Wake up! Wake up wake up wake up!" Jack announced as he charged into Kate's room. He immediately headed for her bed where she had already pulled the covers back over her head. He took a firm hold of the covers and pulled them back quickly.

"Daaaaaadddddd!!!" Kate wailed.

"Get up Kate! You have to get ready for school!" Jack ordered.

"Ugh!!" Kate protested as she crawled to the end of the bed to retrieve her blankets.

"Up!" Jack ordered again as he walked back out of the room and back into Hannah's room.

"Sweetie, you need to get up." Jack said softly.

"Okay, I'm up." Hannah replied. Jack was immediately pleased as he headed back out her door as well. He went to the kitchen and poured himself a cup of coffee.

"Kate! Up!" he yelled from the kitchen.

"I'm UP!!!" Kate yelled back. Jack grinned as he took a gratifying sip of his coffee. He had won again.

While the girls were getting ready he went back to his bedroom to get changed for work. He slid open his closet door and took stock of what was hanging inside. Same old pants, same old shirts, same old jackets, same old ties. He picked out an outfit from his collection and quickly put it on. He checked himself in the mirror and adjusted his tie. He then made sure he had his coffee and headed back out to the kitchen to get the girls' breakfast ready. Today would be cereal because it was the easiest to make. He put the bowls and spoons on the small kitchen table, took the milk out of the refrigerator and set that on the table as well. He would let the girls pick out their own cereals because he never picked out the right ones.

"Girls, get out here and eat breakfast." Jack requested.

The girls came walking quickly down the hall. Hannah was nicely put together in her school uniform, but Kate wasn't looking so well. Her hair was still tousled from being in bed.

"Kate, honey, don't you think you should comb your hair before you go to school?" Jack asked.

"Nah." Kate replied as she pulled her hair out of the messy ponytail it was in and used her hands to pull it back again. It did look somewhat better than it did before so Jack was satisfied with that.

As the girls poured their cereal, Jack glanced at the front page of the newspaper. Nothing particularly interesting jumped out at him so he took his coffee again and walked toward the front windows in the kitchen. He gazed down at the city below. The colors of the leaves were beginning to change and the street was buzzing with early morning traffic. His eyes were fixated on a beautiful woman he saw walking on the sidewalk. He couldn't make out her face, but he could see what she was wearing, a black pants suit with a woolen overcoat. Her hair, down past her shoulders and golden blonde was blowing in the wind. He knew it wasn't Her. Why would She be on this side of town? But he couldn't help but think about Her. Samantha…her name repeated over and over in his mind. He grinned. He loved her and it was tormenting. It was his own fault that things could not work out. He couldn't give himself to Her like he wanted to. He had his girls to think about. He also thought She deserved better. So here he was, festering in his own emotions.

"Dad?" He could hear Hannah's voice in the background.

"Dad!" Hannah said louder. Jack shook his head. He had completely zoned out.

"Uh, yea?" Jack answered quickly.

"Where were you Dad?" Hannah asked.

"I dunno Kiddo, what did you need?" Jack responded.

"Can I have some money for lunch? I don't want to eat the crap they are serving in the caf today." Hannah requested.

"Sure, and don't say 'crap'." Jack answered as he pulled his wallet out of his back pocket. He handed her a five-dollar bill.

"That should be enough, right?" Jack asked.

"Yup, that will be fine, thanks Dad." Hannah said gratefully.

"Well, are you two about ready? I have to be getting to work." Jack asked.

"Yea, I just gotta grab my bag." Kate answered.

In a few moments both girls were waiting for Jack at the front door. After a last check in the mirror, Jack was on his way down the hall to meet them. He opened the door and motioned to the girls.

"Why, after you Maladies." Jack said.

Both girls grinned at their father. It was a great feeling. Things had been different for him since they came to live with him. Their Mother was still in Chicago and they had an okay relationship. It was at the girls' request that they live with their Dad though. The girls choosing to live with him felt like a new lease on life. Almost like a second chance. Things were not always perfect, but even the arguments he had with them made him feel lucky.

The three headed toward the parking garage where Jack kept his black SUV. He didn't have a car until the girls came to live with him. Why did he need one before? They reached the car and Jack unlocked it. They all got in and they headed off to school and work.

When Jack got to his floor, he noticed everyone was in a very somber mood. He saw Vivian coming towards him.

"Viv, what's the case?" he asked her.

"Seven month old baby girl, Jack." Vivian answered. She knew he would be particularly concerned. Cases with kids involved always got to every ones core. This time it was worse though. This is the seventh missing baby in a three months. It was getting ridiculous and Jack knew something was going to have to change.

"Ugh…so what do we have so far?" Jack asked while he looked at the timeline board. There was a picture of a happy baby girl clipped to the top of the board.

"Her name is Scarlett Hanson, parents are Jeff and Sidney Hanson. Mom and Dad took her and older brother Thomas to the Zoo. Thomas ran off and the parents started to follow him but stopped short to get the stroller that Scarlett was sitting in, by the time they turned around, she was already gone." Vivian explained.

"My gosh, how are the parents?" Jack inquired.

"Shaken up, neither one will let Thomas out of their sight now." Vivian replied.

"Yea, I wouldn't either." Jack said softly. Visions of his own daughters came running through his head. It almost made him sick to his stomach.

"Jack, how did you want to handle this?" Vivian asked.

"Uh, You and Samantha, go interview the parents, have Martin and Elena talk to people at the zoo. Danny and I are going to check into the parents' past, see if we find anything." Jack ordered, "These cases have got to be related, we need a break."

"Okay, we'll keep in touch." Vivian answered. She then headed off in the opposite direction of Jack so she could tell every one their orders. Jack went into his office. Cases of missing children were always the worst. Children had never done anything wrong. They had barely even gotten a chance. Jack leaned against his desk with his arms folded across his chest. He was staring down at the floor, deep in thought, contemplating why anyone would take someone else's baby. Of course, there were plenty of reasons. But still…

Just then, there was a light knock at his door. He looked up to see Samantha standing there. She was beautiful. Her hair was slightly curled, falling down naturally around her face. She was wearing a light purple fitted shirt over some black dress pants. The ensemble complimented her slender body and feminine curves perfectly. Jack looked into her consoling eyes. He smiled slightly.

"How ya doin'?" Samantha asked as she moved to join him in leaning against the desk. He could feel her warmth when she brushed against him.

"I'm all right." Jack replied only partially telling the truth.

"Yea, I know how tough these cases are on you. I…I just wanted to see how you were." She said.

"Thanks, I'm good though." He said. Jack felt a tiny tickle inside. She cared about him still.

"Okay, I better get going then." She said, as she stood upright, lightly brushing against him again.

"Yea, me too." He said.

While Danny was looking into the parents' past, Jack was doing some research on the other missing babies. There had been a rash of them recently. None of them found. They had speculated that all these babies were being sold in the black market. It was starting to seem more and more likely. They needed a witness. He was hoping that Martin or Elena had gotten some information from the people at the zoo. Just as he was thinking that, his cell phone rang.

"Yea?" Jack answered.

"Jack, there was a witness here at the zoo. One of the animal caregivers here remember seeing a man and a women in their early thirties around the time of the kidnapping." Martin reported.

"Great. See if they can give a good description or if there is surveillance in the park anywhere." Jack said.

"I'm on it." Martin replied.

The two men hung up their phones. Jack was slightly relieved that someone had seen something. Maybe these two people were the ones who took the baby. Maybe they weren't. It had to be good enough for now.

Neither Jack nor Danny was finding anything on the parents of baby Scarlett. Jack had a feeling that they were not involved. Even though they were careless and they left a seven-month-old baby by herself for even a minute. It was too long.

Meanwhile, Samantha and Vivian were questioning the parents of baby Scarlett.

"Anything you can remember could be helpful." Samantha coaxed.

"Umm, we were standing at the elephant exhibit. Thomas had had entirely too much sugar was bouncing off the walls. Jeff and I got interested in looking at the animals and all of a sudden, Thomas saw the giraffes across the way. He just bolted. He took off into this huge group of people. Jeff and I went after him. Scarlett was sleeping in the stroller and I thought we would be right back. Thomas got too far ahead of us, so I turned around to get Scarlett. When I got to the stroller, she was gone. We didn't hear a thing. I don't even think she woke up. Please…please find our baby…" Sidney sobbed.

Samantha looked at the helpless mother for a moment.

"We will. We will." Samantha replied, almost wanting to cry herself.

Vivian was in the next room speaking with Jeff. Thomas was playing quietly on the floor in front of the television.

"Chances are Sir, because the zoo is such an open place, with not many places to hide, you saw the person or people who took your daughter. Can you remember any of the people who were around you?" Vivian asked.

Jeff thought for a moment.

"Yea, there was another couple there with twins. Both girls. Dressed the same. They were about three years old. Thomas' age. There was another couple there too. They were in their early thirties I think. The man was pushing a stroller and the woman was walking close to him." Jeff said.

"Do you think you can give us descriptions of these people?" Vivian asked.

"Yea, probably."

"Great, I am going to call a sketch artist to come and talk to you." Vivian informed him.

Vivian called Jack and told him what the father said. Jack told her about the worker at the zoo mentioning the couple with the stroller. He told Vivian to have the father concentrate on those two people.

Danny was busy answering the phones at the FBI headquarters. There had been an Amber Alert put out in the media. People with tips had been calling all day. There were a few of them that were particularly interesting and possibly helpful to the case. He passed the information on to Jack, who assigned Samantha to go with him to run some of them down.

Jack met Samantha in the hallway by the elevator. She looked sad, he noticed. There was tension in her eyes.

"Hey, you ready to go?" Jack asked sympathetically.

"Yea." Samantha replied. She looked at him and she thought she was about to cry. She could feel her tears well up so she turned her head away, as though she was looking at something down the hall. Jack wasn't fooled though. He just assumed it was the case that was bothering her so much. The elevator door opened and the two stepped inside. They faced each other leaning on opposite walls.

"These cases suck." Jack said to Samantha.

"Yea, no kidding." Samantha replied.

There was a brief moment of silence. Even though it was silent there was still communication. Her eyes spoke to him and his to her. They missed each other.

"How have you been doing? I haven't gotten to talk to you in a while." Jack asked.

"Good…I've been good…you?" Sam answered quickly.

"Great, actually. The girls are settled in. Everything is going really well, for the most part…" Jack trailed off. She knew what he was referring to. She had outright lied to him. Things were not good. They weren't even close. Her whole life felt as if it was falling apart. These cases were really starting to bother her. There was also a man that she could not get her mind off of. He was standing right in front of her. She sighed loudly.

The elevator doors opened. Jack looked at Samantha one more time, silently telling her to go before him off of the elevator.

"Where are we headed to?" Samantha inquired.

"There was an older lady who noticed a couple looking like the ones from the zoo, she saw the Amber Alert on TV. She said she had never noticed them with a baby though.

"That's not a lot to go on, Jack."

"I know, but we don't have many other leads, so we are going to check into this."

"Okay." Samantha agreed before getting into the FBI issued car.

The two pulled up in front of a small cottage style house. The front yard was nicely landscaped. It was also fenced in with a sign on the gate that said, "Enter at your Own Risk".

"Should we be worried?" Jack said sarcastically.

Samantha grinned slightly and rolled her eyes.

They pushed open the gate and proceeded to the house. Jack knocked on the front door and all of a sudden, there was loud, irritating barking coming from inside the house. A few seconds later, a little old woman answered the door.

"Hello? May I help you?" the frail little woman asked sweetly.

"Hi, I'm Jack Malone, this is Samantha Spade. We are from the FBI. We are just following up on a tip we got this morning. Did you call our headquarters?" Jack inquired.

"Oh Dear, yes. Come in, come in." the lady motioned for them to come in. Just when she pushed the door open a bit wider, four Chihuahuas seemed to attack Samantha and Jacks' feet.

"Oh, those are my little Angels. They're harmless." The lady explained.

Jack and Samantha just looked at each other with a look of surprise on their faces.

The two carefully walked through the foyer, following the lady to a small kitchen, so as not to step on the dogs. The whole house smelled of fresh baked sugar cookies.

"Sit, sit." The lady urged as she pulled out two chairs for the agents.

Jack and Samantha each took a seat on the chairs at the kitchen table. The frail woman hobbled over to the other side of the table and also sat down. The four dogs had finally quieted down and took their places on the floor by her feet.

"Would you care for some coffee?" The lady asked.

"No, no thank you ma'am. We're fine." Answered Jack, "Could I get your name though?" He added.

"Oh dear heavens, I'm so sorry. Eleanor Staar. Just call me Ellie." She said.

"Okay…Ellie. One of the other agents told us that you had seen a couple matching the description on the TV. What else can you tell us about the couple?" Jack asked.

"Oh yes, they actually live right next door. They rent from me. I have never had any problems with them, they pay their rent on time, and I rarely see them. But when I went to take my Angel's for their walk, I thought I heard a baby in there. I didn't personally want to get involved because I didn't want them to think I was crazy if I asked them questions." Ellie explained.

"Can I get their names from you ma'am?" Jack asked.

"Oh heavens, yes! I'll be right back." Ellie said and she slowly got up from her chair and hobbled her way into another room. She came back a few minutes later with the names of the tenants on a piece of paper.

"Here you go dearies, please let me know if you need any more help from me. Also, could you let me know if you find anything fishy about them? I don't need that kind of trouble at my age." Ellie asked.

"We sure will, thank you for all of your help." Samantha said.

"It was my pleasure. My, you are a beautiful girl, aren't you?" Ellie said while staring intently at Samantha who was now right in front of her.

Samantha blushed. "Thank you Ma'am." She replied. Her face immediately blushed.

"Ellie…please. Call me Ellie."

"Okay, thank you, Ellie." Samantha said bashfully.

"It's no wonder this boy is so in love with you." Ellie said, referring to Jack who was standing next to Samantha.

Jack grinned, Samantha caught her breath, "Oh, no Ellie, we're not…I mean, we…" Samantha tried to explain.

Ellie just stood there looking very proud and sure of herself.

"I've been around the block a few times you know, I can tell when a man is in love with a woman." Ellie stated firmly.

Jack and Samantha just looked at each other and smiled. "Thank you Ellie." They said in unison.

The two walked out to the car in silence and got in. They were looking straight ahead when they both started to giggle.

"What a sweet little lady." Jack commented.

"Very, I hope I am that adorable when I am that old." Samantha said. Jack grinned and gazed at her for a moment longer.

The two drove back to the office. They had the two names that they needed to run down now.

Jack and Samantha were sitting at the long conference table in the middle of the bullpen. Each of them had a stack of papers in front of them and they were diligently working.

"I've got something!" Danny announced as he entered the area.

"The couple that the little old lady called about, they have records."

"Oh yea, dazzle me." Jack said sarcastically. Samantha just grinned at Jacks' attitude.

"Well, it's more him than her actually, but she was brought in on drug charges. From the looks of her record, she also has issues with depression. He on the other hand, has been brought in on assault, weapons, drugs, pretty much everything." Danny explained.

"Wow. I am dazzled, Danny-boy. I think we need to put some surveillance on those two. Something is just not right." Jack instructed.

"So, who wants to do it?" Jack added as Vivian, Martin and Elena entered the room. It was about 5:30pm. Jack knew he had to get home to the girls, so he was hoping two of his crew would volunteer.

"I can do it." Martin spoke up.

"I'll go too." Danny added.

"Great you guys. Thanks so much." Jack said. "Keep an eye on them through the night. Call me on my cell if something develops."

At seven o'clock, Martin and Danny were parked outside of the couples' apartment. Martin was eating a greasy cheeseburger and fries and Danny was eating a grilled chicken salad. The two could never work a stakeout on an empty stomach.

"So, what's going on with you and Elena?" Martin asked, trying to give Danny a hard time.

"What do you mean 'what's going on with me and Elena?'" Danny replied, trying not to grin. Just the thought of Elena sent a shiver through his spine.

"Just that, Buddy." Martin probed.

"I don't know" Danny said reluctantly, "She's amazing. I can't stop thinking about her…"

"Okay, stop!" Martin ordered, "I don't like this side of you, you are going to make me gag."

Danny laughed, "You asked."

Danny glanced out the windshield between bites of his salad.

"Hey, check it out." He said.

Martin put down his cheeseburger and tried to focus on what Danny was looking at.

A woman was walking out of the apartment holding what looked to be a baby in a blanket. The child was completely covered however. The woman walked down the driveway and opened the door to the car that was parked there. She stood for a moment, looking back at the apartment. A second or two later, a man came trudging out of the apartment carrying a child's car seat. The man looked around suspiciously as though he was being watched. He put the car seat in the car and the woman carefully placed the child in the seat.

"That little lady mentioned she thought she heard a baby. Guess she was right." Martin commented.

"Yea, at least it looks like the child is being taken care of." Danny added, "I'm going to follow them."

Danny and Martin both put on their seat belts again and cautiously pulled out into traffic, following the car. They followed until the car pulled into a parking lot in front of a Wal-Mart store. The man parked the car but kept it running. Apparently, the woman and the child were going to stay in the vehicle. Martin and Danny parked a row over from them, trying to remain inconspicuous. They watched the woman in the car with the child. She turned to the back seat and appeared to be talking to the child and rearranging the blanket that had been covering the child. A few minutes later, the man came out of the store with a small package of diapers, a case of Budweiser, and a plastic grocery bag full of items.

"I don't know much about having a baby, but don't you think if you were a parent, you would buy a larger box of diapers?" Danny commented.

"Yea, no kidding. It looked like a small can of formula in that bag too." Martin added.

"I don't think those people have any intentions on keeping that baby for anything longer than a day or two." Danny suspected.

"Yea, me either." Martin agreed as he picked up his phone to call Jack.

Jack was sitting at home in his favorite recliner watching TV when his phone rang. He looked at the caller ID. "Fitzgerald" it read.

"Yea, Martin?" Jack answered.

"Hey Jack, so we were keeping tabs on this couple and we know they definitely have a child. We followed them to a Wal-Mart and the guy went in a bought some baby stuff and beer. They really don't look like they are keeping this child, Jack. Do you have any ideas?" Martin explained.

"We are going to have to figure out a way to get into that apartment. Why don't you guys call it a night, and I will talk to you in the morning." Jack said.

"Sounds good, boss." Martin said as he hung up.

In the morning at the FBI headquarters, Jack, Samantha, Elena, Danny, Martin and Vivian were all gathered around the conference table in the bullpen.

"Okay, so we know these people have a child, doubtfully theirs, how are we going to get inside?" Samantha asked.

"We can't get a warrant, there isn't any evidence." Elena continued.

"No…no, but we could go undercover." Danny suggested.

"Yea, I suppose we could do that…I wonder if that apartment needs any electrical work done, or maybe plumbing?" Martin added.

"You know, technically, we don't need the couple's permission to look in the apartment. We only need the landlords permission." Vivian informed.

"You are right, we will just ask Mrs. Starr if we can take a look inside." Jack said.

"Samantha, since you and I have already been there, why don't you come with me to check out this apartment?" he added.

"Sounds good." Samantha replied.

"Okay then, lets get going." Jack said.

The group at the table disbanded.

"I have to get my coat from my office and I will meet you at the elevator." Jack said to Samantha. He had lightness in his eyes. He looked hopeful.

"Okay." Samantha answered.

Samantha was patiently waiting by the elevator when Jack came out of his office. Wow, she is gorgeous, Jack thought to himself. He smiled at her as he approached. She smiled back.

"Ready?" He asked.

"Ready." She answered.

Jack and Samantha pulled up in front of Ellie Starr's home. They got out of the car and again walked up to her front door. Jack knocked. Again, they heard the irritating barking of small dogs.

"Her 'Little Angels." Jack mocked.

"Oh, stop." Samantha urged, trying not to laugh.

A few moments later the door opened. Mrs. Starr looked extremely happy to see the agents.

"Good Morning Agents. It is so nice to see you again. To what to I owe the pleasure?" Ellie gushed.

"Good morning, Mrs. Starr." Jack answered.

"Ellie, please."

"Oh, sorry, I meant Ellie. How are you today?" Jack inquired.

"I am doing well, thank you." Ellie replied.

"Ellie, we were wondering if we could ask you a favor." Samantha started. "We are investigating the rash of missing babies in the area and have reason to suspect your tenants of being involved."

"Oh shoot! I knew something was going on with them." Ellie scolded herself.

"Ellie, ma'am, we were wondering if we could have your permission to look around the apartment." Jack requested.

"Oh of course Dear, go right ahead." Ellie granted. "I will walk you over."

The tiny lady picked up her coat from the coat hook next to the door and slipped it on. The two agents followed her down the bank towards the back of her house to a building that looked like a garage that was converted into an apartment.

"It is just a studio apartment." Ellie explained. "My Dear husband, Harold, built it for our son when he was down on his luck. Since Harold has passed and our son has moved on, I thought it a waste to sit there empty, so I rented it out. I really thought this couple was going to be okay."

The three approached the door and Ellie knocked. They could hear people moving around inside.

"Just a minute." A rough sounding man ordered.

Jack and Samantha looked at each other questioningly. The door opened just slightly. A shorter woman with ratty blonde hair stood in the crack so the agents couldn't see into the apartment.

"Yes? Can I help you?" the woman said quietly.

"Hello dear, these agents are from the FBI. They requested that I let them look at the apartment. I'm sure that would be okay, wouldn't it dearie?" Ellie explained.

"Uh, sure, just a minute though please." The woman answered. She closed the door quickly. The agents could hear a commotion inside the apartment. Samantha explained to Ellie it would be safer if she kept her distance. Ellie retreated back to her home. Jack knocked once more on the door to the apartment.

"Come in!" the rough sounding man yelled.

Jack, with his hand on his pistol opened the door slowly. Samantha followed closely behind.

"Where is the old lady?" the man asked. He was filthy with greasy receding hair and bad teeth. His clothes were dirty or old, or both. The apartment had a terrible odor. Like cigarette smoke and body odor. When Samantha stepped further inside she nearly gagged.

"She is up at the house, she said we could come in and take a look around." Jack explained.

Jack and Samantha were looking around at the apartment. It was a mess. Beer cans were piling up everywhere. There were dirty diapers balled up sitting on the floor. A few baby bottles were sitting around the edge of the sink.

"You two have a baby?" Jack inquired.

"Uh, yea, well, no, we are baby sitting." The dirty man stammered.

"Oh yea?" Jack said while still investigating the room, "Where are the parents?"

"They are…on vacation." The filthy man answered.

"And how do you know the parents?" Jack probed.

"My girlfriend's sister. It's her kid."

Jack stood in front of the man, clearly not believing his story.

"Could I see the baby? I just love babies." Jack asked slyly.

"Uh, yea, I guess." The man answered reluctantly. "Holly, come out here, bring the kid."

Slowly, the bathroom door opened. The woman came out of the bathroom holding the child tightly.

"Ohh, is she shy? Can I hold her?" Jack asked.

The woman looked at the man, as if asking for his permission and the man nodded. The woman slowly and cautiously handed the baby to Jack.

Jack picked her up like an old pro. The instant the baby was in his arms he looked at Samantha and nodded. This was baby Scarlett. Jack was sure of it.

"You sure look familiar sweetie." Jack cooed at the baby, "Seems that I have seen your picture somewhere before…Samantha, do you want to hold her?"

"Ugh, Jack…I uh…"Samantha stammered. She did not want to hold the baby, but she caught the look in his eye. She obeyed silently and took the baby from Jack. Jack continued with his questions. He was hoping that the situation would not get messy. It was already going better than expected.

"Can I get a name and number for the baby's parents? I am going to have to ask them a few questions." Jack requested as he got out his pad of paper and pen.

The man looked rattled.

"All right…fine. You got us. It's not her sister's baby." He admitted.

"Well, that was pretty obvious since we know your girlfriend doesn't have a sister, where did you get the baby?" Jack demanded.

"The zoo. The baby was just sleeping in the stroller. The parents had walked away. We thought it would be an easy score." The man explained.

"Easy score? Okay, okay, I am going to have to arrest you in the kidnapping of Scarlett Hanson. Do you know your rights?" Jack asked as he took his handcuffs out of his back pocket.

"Please, stand up and turn around, hands behind your back." He continued.

Samantha was standing close to the doorway with the baby. She flipped open her cell phone with one hand and called Vivian for back up. They never thought they would get an arrest out of just one visit to the apartment.

"Viv, it's Sam, can you send a couple of squads over to the apartment?" Samantha requested.

"Sure, sure, everything okay?" Viv asked.

"Oh yea, we found the baby." Samantha added.

"That's great, Samantha, we will see you in a little bit." Vivian said as she hung up.

Jack had the man in handcuffs sitting on a kitchen chair when he turned his attention to the girl. She was sobbing with her head in her hands.

"Ma'am, we are going to have to put you under arrest. You are an accessory to a kidnapping." Jack explained.

The woman nodded her head and stood up. Jack gently turned her around and put the handcuffs on her.

"You have the baby?" Jack asked Samantha.

"Yea." Samantha answered. She sounded more sure of herself now.

"Looks good on you." Jack remarked about her holding the baby as he escorted the two suspects out the door.

Samantha rolled her eyes and smiled at the comment. By the time they had gotten outside, the two squad cars were there to take the suspects back to headquarters. Jack put the man in one of the cars and then returned to escort the woman to the other.

"I have something to tell you, sir." The woman whispered.

Jack looked at her questioningly.

"What's that ma'am?"

"There were more. More babies…don't tell him I told you. He will kill me." The woman whispered as she got into the car.

Jack closed the car door and turned around. This could be the break they have been waiting for. He exhaled deeply and then his eyes caught a glimpse of Samantha. She was holding the baby in a blanket trying to keep her warm.

"Jack, I am trying to keep her warm, but it doesn't look like they have any cold weather clothes in the apartment. We should get her looked at and taken to the office." Samantha said.

"Yea, you are right, start the car and I will grab that car seat from the apartment, Danny and Martin said they had one."

Samantha nodded and headed to the car with baby Scarlett. Jack returned a few minutes later with the car seat.

"It is filthy, but looks to be in working order." Jack said as he slid the seat into the back of the car. Jack came around to the front seat and took Scarlett from Samantha. She noticed how natural it was for him to pick her up. She smiled. Jack finished buckling in the baby and got in the drivers seat of the car.

"Here we go." Jack said.

Samantha settled back in her seat. Scarlett was being a wonderful baby. She hadn't cried at all. Samantha thought of herself when she was a teenager. Would her baby have been so well behaved? Would she have been as brave as Scarlett was? This deep, dark secret had been hidden within her since she was nineteen. She had gotten pregnant when she was newly married to a boy right out of high school. The marriage was doomed from the beginning and she knew that. There was no way she was going to bring a baby into the world under those circumstances. Maybe she was selfish. Maybe it would have been a punishment to that child to even think about keeping it. She terminated the pregnancy at six weeks. She never told the father. She never told anybody. Everyone just assumed, all this time, she did not like children. It never occurred to anyone to think any differently. Holding Scarlett was very therapeutic to her though. She liked babies. She did. She just knew that nineteen was the wrong age to become a mother. Lots of people end pregnancies for a lot of different reasons, and that was her business, nobody else's.

She could feel she had tightened her jaw to the point of grinding her teeth. She relaxed as Jack pulled the car into the Emergency Room parking lot.

"Can you get the baby?" Jack asked.

"Uh huh." Samantha nodded.

Samantha got out of the car and took Scarlett out of the car seat. She held the baby close to her to keep her warm and Jack escorted the two into the hospital.

After Scarlett was discharged from the hospital with a clean bill of health, the three went back to the FBI headquarters. Jack noticed that with each moment with the baby, Samantha had smiled a bit more. She was even playing with her.

"Are her parents meeting us?" Samantha inquired.

"Yea, they are waiting in my office." Jack answered.

The three boarded the elevator. Samantha was still carrying Scarlett, protecting her from the world. Jack mused the whole ride up to their floor. Samantha looked so happy.

The elevator doors opened. The three walked off and started toward Jack's office when his glass office door swung open quickly. It was Sidney Hanson, Scarlett's mother. Her face was relieved yet tear stained. She started walking toward the agents, but soon her walk became a run.

Samantha carefully handed Scarlett to her mother who was fully engulfed in tears. Samantha and Jack took a step back to let the mother bond with her daughter. Jeff and Thomas were hurrying down the hall towards them as well. Jack knew he needed the family to stay for a while and fill out paperwork, but he figured he would give them some time to themselves. He looked over at Samantha who had tears welling up in her eyes. He stepped closer to her and put his arm around her consolingly. She nuzzled into him and he guided her away from the family.

TO BE CONTINUED…


End file.
